Experimental Psychology

PSY 433

Ch. 8, pg 207-209
Reaction Time as a Dependent Variable
Some Terminology
 Dependent variable (DV) – the variable
measured and recorded by the experimenter.
 Independent variable (IV) – the variable
manipulated by the experimenter.
 In an experiment, changing the IV should
produce a corresponding change in the DV,
demonstrating a causal relationship.
 Studies can have multiple DV’s (called
multivariate) or multiple IV’s (called factorial).
Donders Tasks
 S1  R1 Donders A

 S1  R1 Donders B
S2  R2

 S1  R1 Donders C
S2
Measuring RT – Donders A
 The two most common DVs in
experimental psychology are percent
correct and reaction time (RT).
 There are several types of RT
 Reaction time vs response time
 Simple RT (Donders A): the time between
the onset of a stimulus and the onset of a
response.
 Requires time for sensory processing,
nerve conduction, and responding.
Measuring RT – Donders C
 Go NoGo (Donders C): the time between
the onset of one of multiple possible
stimuli and the onset of a response to
only a single one of those stimuli.
 Requires time for all processes in simple
RT plus time for stimulus identification.
Measuring RT – Donders B

 Choice RT (Donders B): the time between

the onset of one of multiple possible
stimuli and the onset of a unique response
to each stimulus.
 Requires time for all processes in simple
RT plus time for stimulus identification and
time for response selection.
Donders A -- Simple

A Reaction Time
(total)

Perceive stimulus and press key

Donders C – Go-No Go

C Reaction Time
(total)

Perceive stimulus, decide if it is the

one requiring you to press a key,
press the key
Isolating and Measuring the Two
Components of the Task
A Reaction Time

C Reaction Time

C Minus A

The two steps (perceive a stimulus and decide

whether to press a key or not) can be separated
and the time needed for each determined by
subtraction.
Donders B -- Choice

B Reaction
Time (total)

C Reaction
Time (total)

B Minus C

Baseline Identification Selection Time

Time
The Subtractive Method

 A: See a stimulus
Press a key
 B: See a stimulus
Identify which one it is
Decide which key to press
Press a key
 C: See a stimulus
Identify which one it is
Press a key or not
Measuring the Separate Parts
 A is the Simple task
 B is the Choice task
 C is the Go-NoGo task
 A is how long it takes to see a stimulus and
press a key.
 To figure out how long it takes to identify the
stimulus, subtract A from C.
 To figure out how long it takes to decide
which key to press, subtract B from C.
Subtractive Method in Experiments
 Define two or more groups (levels of the IV):
 Group 1 – Control group
 Group 2 – Experimental (treatment) group
 Measure both groups
 Subtract Group 2 from Group 1
 The difference is the effect
 The effect is the amount attributable to
whatever happened differently in Group 2.
 If there is no measurable difference between
the two, there is no effect.
Reaction Time Expt (Uncleaned)
Task
Simple Mean P 1 1.042
StDevP 1 1.975
Min P 1 0.253
Max P 1 9.22
N P1 20
SE P 1 0.44
P1
Go/NoGo Mean P 2 0.426
StDevP 2 0.067
Min P 2 0.317
Max P 2 0.53
N P2 20
SE P 2 0.02
P2
Choice Mean P 3 0.477
StDevP 3 0.100
Min P 3 0.301
Max P 3 0.71
N P3 20
SE P 3 0.02
Reaction Time Expt (Cleaned)
Task
Simple Mean P 1 0.343
StDevP 1 0.072
Min P 1 0.253
Max P 1 0.50
N P1 19
SE P 1 0.02
P1
Go/NoGo Mean P 2 0.426
StDevP 2 0.069
Min P 2 0.317
Max P 2 0.53
N P2 19
SE P 2 0.02
P2
Choice Mean P 3 0.454
StDevP 3 0.077
Min P 3 0.301
Max P 3 0.64
N P3 19
SE P 3 0.02